The environment experienced by integrated circuits and printed circuit boards in both industrial and military applications require them to withstand substantial shock and vibration. The method of mounting an integrated circuit (IC) on a printed circuit board must enable the connections to withstand substantial shock and vibration because these forces can cause an IC mounting device to loosen, open the connection, and thereby result in failure of the circuit.
There are two generally distinct types of IC connections, reusable and non-reusable. Non-reusable connections are sometimes hard soldered. Soldered connections are inherently vibration and shock proof because the mechanical connection is through solidified metal. However, they do not permit flexibility in the maintenance of the circuit. Another type of non-reusable connection is through vibration and shock resistant sockets. Such sockets available before the present invention are not reusable because the mechanical design of the contact necessary to keep the IC lead in the socket under shock and vibration inherently involves damage to the socket contacts when the IC leads are intentionally removed from the socket.
The other main type of socket is the reusable socket. Such sockets are becoming much more common in printed circuit design since sockets permit the IC to be removed for troubleshooting or replacement without the risk of damage to the IC due to the heat necessary for desoldering a soldered in device. Unfortunately reusable sockets known in the prior art are not vibration and shock resistant because the metal contacts inside the socket that grip the IC leads are designed to release the IC leads without harm.
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, current reusable IC socket designs (1) employ spring contacts (3) to grasp the IC leads but the contacts are designed only to pinch the leads and can release the lead as a result of shock or vibration. The prior art socket comprises the plastic body (2), metal contacts (3) that grasp each IC lead (4), and contact extensions (5) that pass through the circuit board to be used for electrical connection to the balance of circuit.
Current vibration resistant IC socket designs, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, employ spring contacts that are shaped like a barb (10). The IC lead (11) enters the socket contact (12) easily but when the user attempts to remove the IC lead from the socket the socket contact is damaged to the point that the socket is not reusable.
Because both manufacturing and maintenance of circuits and circuit boards need to be more flexible in a world where vast quantities of circuits using board-mounted IC's are produced, a need exists for an IC connector socket which is simultaneously reusable and vibration and shock resistant. This invention is responsive to that need.